Sickbay
Sickbay is the main medical center aboard Federation starships. Sickbay is led by the chief medical officer (CMO), a senior staff member, and crewed by various doctors and nurses. It is responsible for the health care and well being of the crew. The area is also tasked with analysis of new life forms a starship may encounter, and developing treatments for unknown diseases or illnesses. When rendering aid to a stricken planet or spacecraft, the sickbay staff treats and cares for the wounded. On starbases, sickbay is typically called the infirmary. Features Intensive care unit Three or four biobeds generally line the walls of sickbay's intensive care unit, or ICU; these are for patients receiving medical care and are equipped with biofunction monitors. On ''Galaxy'' class starships, private rooms are available for long-term patients. (TNG: "Ethics") Surgical facilities Sickbay also has a surgical bed, where major surgeries are performed and critical patients are treated. A large, sophisticated sensor cluster is usually installed directly above this bed. Working in conjunction with a medical tricorder, the sensor suite can give detailed information about a patient's condition. The bed is also designed to use a surgical support frame. This bed is often located in the center of the main sickbay room, although [[Constitution class|refit Constitution class]] and ''Intrepid'' class starships have separate spaces for their surgical beds; the former in a separate room, the latter in a small area that can be isolated by a force field. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, VOY: "Caretaker," "Phage") If necessary, surgery could be conducted in the intensive care ward if there are an overflow of patients or if another patient is present to donate blood. (TOS: "Journey to Babel," VOY: "Latent Image") Galaxy class starships also have separate surgical rooms. (TNG: "Ethics") Laboratories Sickbays typically have small laboratory facilities attached to the ICU. The chief medical officer or other associated personnel can monitor experiments or run tests here during their duty shift. (TNG: "Evolution," "Clues," "The Game," VOY: "Macrocosm") The laboratory is equipped with a full bioisolation field. (TNG: "Home Soil") Many starships also have separate, larger medlabs. Galaxy class ships have at least four. (TNG: "Ethics," Star Trek: Nemesis) CMO's office The chief medical officer's office is also located in or near sickbay. As with the Captain's Ready Room, it is an area for the CMO to work in privacy or conduct meetings with patients, staff, and others. Its close location allows the CMO to be present in sickbay almost immediately. The space can be personalized, and the chief medical officer can use plants or paintings for decoration. Dr. Beverly Crusher had a large painting outside her office; it was an abstract representation of humanoid organs against the backdrop of space and several starships Enterprise. Other features Other treatment facilities available in a Galaxy class sickbay include physical therapy rooms (TNG: "Ethics"), OB/GYN and nursery areas (TNG: "The Child," "Data's Day"), and an emergency bio support unit (TNG: "Transfigurations") A stasis unit is also available, used to temporarily place patients in suspended animation for later treatment. (TNG: "Genesis") Constitution class starships had the decompression chamber, and may have had other features as well. (TOS: "Space Seed," "The Empath," "The Lights of Zetar") A morgue facility is also part of sickbay. On Galaxy class starships, there is a large separate morgue (TNG: "Man of the People," "Suspicions") although autopsies are performed in the main sickbay. (TNG: "Realm of Fear," "Suspicions") The Intrepid class has a tiny area for storage of the deceased just off the medical lab (VOY: "Basics, Part II") as well as a separate morgue area. (VOY: "Renaissance Man") Supplies Sickbay is well stocked with a variety of medical equipment and supplies. Much of it was left out on tables or benches for use by the medical crew, but some items were stored in cargo crates. (TNG: "Haven," "Starship Mine," VOY: "Message in a Bottle") On 24th century starships, if a piece of equipment is needed but not available it can be replicated. A standard food replicator is also found in sickbay (TNG: "Evolution," "Future Imperfect") although the quality of the food does not appear to have improved much since the twentieth century. (TNG: "Ethics") Security Due to its critical importance, the primary sickbay is usually located deep within the saucer section of most Federation starships. Sickbay is well protected, and generally has a phaser locker for defense of the facility in the event the ship is boarded. (TNG: "Starship Mine," "Timescape") Psychology Sickbay can provide limited psychological services to a starship's crew. In the 23rd century, the ship's doctor often doubled as an informal counselor. (TOS: "The Cage") By the 24th century, counselors became a normal part of starship crews. Although not formally part of the medical staff, the counselor plays an important role in the well being of the crew. (TNG: "Relics") Counselors are not always assigned to starships, especially smaller vessels with limited missions. While the [[USS Voyager|USS Voyager]] was stranded in the Delta Quadrant, the ship's Emergency Medical Hologram and morale officer Neelix informally filled the counselor roles. Emergency Situations Triage When a large scale disaster is encountered by a starship, cargo bays and shuttlebays can be used as triage centers and even morgues if necessary. Generally, this is only feasible on larger ships with a sizeable medical staff. On Galaxy class ships, a chief medical officer can order all Starfleet crewmembers and civilians with medical training to assist during a major crisis. (TNG: "Night Terrors," "Ethics") Galaxy class starships also carry large quantities of backup medical supplies in the event of disaster. (TNG: "Preemptive Strike") Designated environmental shelters can also be converted for medical use, such as Ten-Forward on the Galaxy class. (TNG: "Night Terrors," "Disaster") On the Intrepid class USS Voyager, the mess hall often served as a backup to sickbay. (VOY: "Macrocosm," "Before and After," "Year of Hell, Part I," "Memorial") The Emergency Medical Hologram The Emergency Medical Hologram is a new asset to medical personnel, introduced in 2370. It can be activated in the event of a major emergency or loss of the medical staff. Although its value is indisputable, many Starfleet doctors, including Beverly Crusher, were not fond of the program, and it was rewritten several times. (Star Trek: First Contact, DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?," VOY: "Life Line") One noteworty EMH is the Doctor of the USS Voyager. He was activated shortly after the ship's disappearance in 2371, and served as their chief medical officer for nearly seven years, growing into a sentient being in the process. (VOY: "Caretaker," "Endgame") Differences amongst starship classes ''Constitution'' class On Constitution class starships, sickbay is on Deck 7. It was completely redesigned during the refit of the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]], much to the chagrin of Dr. McCoy. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) ''Galaxy'' class Galaxy class ships have at least three sickbay wards. (TNG: "Tapestry"). Two sickbay wards are located on Deck 12 of the saucer module, with the primary facility on the starboard side of the ship and a backup on the port. (TNG: "A Matter of Perspective") Another sickbay is in the stardrive section. (TNG: "The Arsenal of Freedom", Star Trek: Generations) Galaxy class ships have one of the largest medical care facilities in the fleet, taking up the majority of Deck 12. In an alternate timeline, Captain Rachel Garrett marveled at the size and advancement of the Enterprise-D sickbay, stating that she had never seen anything like it before. (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise, "Remember Me") Galaxy class ships normally have several doctors on board and at least four medical personnel on duty at all times. (TNG: "Remember Me," "Genesis"), ''Intrepid'' class On Intrepid class ships, sickbay is on Deck 5. (VOY: "Tuvix") The entire medical staff consists of a doctor and a nurse, supplemented by an EMH. (VOY: "Caretaker") Sickbay on the Intrepid class is unable to handle a heavy patient load. (VOY: "Deadlock," "Waking Moments") ''Defiant'' class On ''Defiant'' class ships, sickbay is on Deck 2. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual) Sickbay is spartan, usually staffed with a single physician or medic. ''Sovereign'' class Aboard the ''Sovereign'' class, sickbay wards can be found on Deck 8 and Deck 16 (the latter of which was a smaller facility resembling the sickbay of an Intrepid class ship). An EMH is standard equipment. (Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Nemesis) ''Prometheus'' class Sickbay on the ''Prometheus'' class class is somewhat small, containing a single surgical biobed and a spartan research area. However, the sickbay is stocked with the latest in medical technologies and was the first to test the EMH Mark II. (VOY: "Message in a Bottle") Background Information The sickbay set seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture was originally built for the aborted Star Trek: Phase II television series. It was reused for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and also became the seedy bar visited by Dr. McCoy in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. The set was later revamped to serve as the ''Enterprise''-D sickbay for Star Trek: The Next Generation. The sickbay set also doubled as the conference lounge set during the first season of TNG. Outlines of where the windows were hidden by carpet can be seen in sickbay scenes. There was a small medlab attached to this set, beyond the doors next to Dr. Crusher's office. It was crammed behind the transporter room and a difficult set to shoot, which led to the creation of a new, separate multipurpose laboratory which debuted in the third season. It also appeared as the ''Enterprise''-A sickbay in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in this same basic configuration. 24th century control panels and technology could be seen on the set in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, but for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the set was better redressed to hide the TNG-era elements. The set was further retooled to become Voyager's sickbay for Star Trek: Voyager and the ''Enterprise''-E sickbay in Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection. Elements from this incarnation of the set were incorporated in the [[USS Prometheus#USS Prometheus (NX-59650)|USS Prometheus]] from VOY: "Message in a Bottle." The set was torn down after Voyager wrapped in 2001. A new set was built for the Enterprise-E in Star Trek: Nemesis, although it used the biobeds from TNG (which were originally from TMP). For the ''Defiant'', the mess hall set was redressed to become sickbay.